Linking Theories, Past Practices, and Archaeological Remains of Movement through Ontological Reasoning

Abstract

The amount of information available to archaeologists has grown dramatically during the last ten years. The rapid acquisition of observational data and creation of digital data has played a significant role in this “information explosion”. In this paper, we propose new methods for knowledge creation in studies of movement, designed for the present data-rich research context. Using three case studies, we analyze how researchers have identified, conceptualized, and linked the material traces describing various movement processes in a given region. Then, we explain how we construct ontologies that enable us to explicitly relate material elements, identified in the observed landscape, to the knowledge or theory that explains their role and relationships within the movement process. Combining formal pathway systems and informal movement systems through these three case studies, we argue that these systems are not hierarchically integrated, but rather intertwined. We introduce a new heuristic tool, the “track graph”, to record observed material features in a neutral form which can be employed to reconstruct the trajectories of journeys which follow different movement logics. Finally, we illustrate how the breakdown of implicit conceptual references into explicit, logical chains of reasoning, describing basic entities and their relationships, allows the use of these constituent elements to reconstruct, analyze, and compare movement practices from the bottom up.

Theoretical Repositioning of Automated Remote Sensing Archaeology: Shifting from Features to Ephemeral Landscapes

“…By formalizing our expectations of what modifications may have taken place to cultural materials, we can improve our capacity to predict and identify these features within the modern landscape, as it widens our expectations of the form that these materials may take given changes over time. The same has recently been advocated by Nuninger et al (2020aNuninger et al ( , 2020b, who develop conceptual frameworks for identifying and tracing movement via "pathways" in the archaeological record. By formalizing our conceptions of these cultural phenomena, it allows for researchers to improve their interpretations of archaeological data by rethinking the scales at which they investigate certain concepts.…”

“…In brief terms, DhSMs are a type of ontological system (sensu Guarino et al, 2009), meaning that it constitutes a formalized model by which we can conceptualize the archaeological record in its many forms. There are numerous sources of bias that can affect data collection and the results of different research agendas, and formalized conceptual frameworks can aid in replicability of research and interoperability of datasets (Nuninger et al 2020a(Nuninger et al , 2020b). DhSMs are one form of formalized conceptual framework that are designed to create a link between theoretical notions of taphonomic effects and digital representations of these materials in remote sensing data (Magnini and Bettineschi 2019;also see Arvor et al 2019).…”

Towards Limiting Semantic Data Loss in 4d Urban Data Semantic Graph Generation

“…When creating a spatio-temporal data model from two or more sources, often a common data format is used to facilitate the integration. For this purpose, much research and official standards have been made for implementing 3D and 4D geospatial data using semantic web technologies, such as RDF (Resource Description Framework) and OWL (Web Ontology Language) (Bonduel et al, 2019, Brink et al, 2014, Lemmens et al, 2016, Métral and Falquet, 2018, Nuninger et al, 2020, Psyllidis, 2015. These proposals use machine-readable description logics to create ontologies for semantic modeling and integration.…”

Environment, Archaeology and Landscape: Papers in honour of Professor Martin Bell

“…In effect, the creation of tourist trails and geo-educational itineraries can utilise patterns of movement made by historic agents for current and future movement. The bodily engagement of movement is central to the way we structure space and understand our identity and place in the world Bell & Leary 2020;Nuninger et al 2020). Landscapes, routeways and tourist trails can be strongly linked to identity and embedded within a range of social, political and cultural aspects of movement along them (Bell & Leary 2020;Bender & Winer 2001;Hanrahan et al 2017;Holley-Kline & Papzian 2020;MacLeod 2017;Santos 2002), and 'castlescapes' can be equally evocative and contested, and conflicts of the Middle Ages can still resonate in present day politics and recent conflicts (Banerjea et al 2019;Harrison 2013;Link 2015;Pluskowski 2012;Vandekerckhove 2020: xi).…”